2024 sees highest number of infant deaths for last five years
Infant mortality in Portugal has hit the highest level since 2019.
This is the worrying first sentence of a report today in tabloid Correio da Manhã which explains that between January 1 and November 30 this year, 240 deaths of newborns and babies under the age of 1 had been registered.
The number represents 39 more than infants dying last year, and 31 more than died in 2022.
Four in every 10 deaths came in the first week of life (96), while 22% (53) happened between seven and 27 days of life. The remaining 91 (38%) were recorded between the first month and first year of birth.
Compared with the total number of deaths in the country, those in the first year of life represent 0.22% – which is the highest value in the last five years, says the paper (when the total also stood at 0.22%). Last year’s proportion of total deaths came out at 0.17%; the year before 0.18%, and the year before that 0.14%.
According to the SICO/ Mortality Vigilance portal, the increase in infant mortality “accompanies the increase in the total number of deaths” (ie people generally are dying in greater numbers).
“Between January 1 and December 27, 117,500 deaths were registered in Portugal – 503 more than in the same period in 2023”, says CM citing SICO’s data.
“With exception of the years of the pandemic, in which there was an increase in mortality due to the coronavirus, deaths in the last two years are almost 5% above those recorded in the pre-pandemic years”, the paper continues. “If the deaths attributed by the health authorities to Covid-19 are removed, then the year that is now ending should be the deadliest in recent decades in Portugal, even higher than the years 2020 and 2021, which recorded the most deaths from SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19).”
No conclusions come in this faintly bleak report today. The paper refers to the cold temperatures forecast for the coming week (some places expected to dip below freezing, but the vast majority to hover in the positive single digits), saying “it is likely that the number of deaths will rise, particularly as the months with highest rates of mortality have, in recent years, been those of December, and January/ February”. It does pinpoint areas where the majority of deaths have occurred (Lisbon, Sintra, Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia) stressing that these are the most densely populated and therefore would conceivably have higher rates of death as a result.
What is worrying, however, is that this rise in infant mortality comes after recent years of ‘high stress’ within the public health sector regarding under-staffed pediatric units, a lack of qualified specialists (particularly obstetricians) and almost constant friction between medical personnel and the ‘hierarchy’ (meaning the government).
